Since we last wrote last Wednesday we have had the Dish Dash To The Max charity lunch. Other than the fact that although Massimo was there he decided to have a complete grump the whole time and only smiled after he left the restaurant, the event went off without a hitch and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who participated. Thank you to the restaurant for lovely food and for looking after us so well. The amount of money raised wasn’t a huge amount, but as every penny counts, so will all of these.
After lunch, Jemma, our lovely new live-in nanny, moved in! Life has improved dramatically and Massimo and I are enjoying life again and not feeling restricted to the living room. On Friday Jemma and I sorted out the new baby’s clothes into some of Massimo’s recently vacated drawers, with a little pile of premature clothes out and ready for use but 
definitely kept to one side. Mind you, the size of my stomach would indicate that this little baby boy is not going to be undersize, even if he was born now, you never can tell!
Saturday and Sunday were very quiet and lazy days for us. Justin worked from home and Massimo and I just relaxed. A trip to Sainsbury’s on Sunday for me reminded me why I shop online and also that my ability to walk any distance is fairly limited. At the checkout I suddenly remembered I needed Zoflora, a nice smelling disinfectant which we use in Massimo’s suction machines and which had been smelling so gruesome all day and desperately needed sorting. Unfortunately the aisle with the Zoflora was the furthest, bar one, from the checkout and by the time I walked there and back there was a huge long queue waiting for me and everyone was looking thunderous! I had done my best, but walking at speed is just not an option these days!
On Monday Massimo’s community nurse came to teach Jemma how to do a tracheostomy change and then we had a very good session with the physiotherapist, Hilary. We are now aiming to teach Massimo how to raise himself to a sitting position but side-ways, which is how we all do it when on our own. In this last week he seems to have grasped the concept really well and we sometimes catch him trying to do it on his own.
On Tuesday (late) morning Jemma and I had a bit of a fight with Wandsworth Parking Services as when we had attempted to get a parking permit for Jemma’s car on the previous Friday they told us to call the main office to ask about permits for nannies. Having called the office on Monday and having been told that a copy of her contract with our address on it would be sufficient as proof of address, when we got there and they called the office to double check we were informed that that was only valid for live-out nannies. Live-in nannies have to change some bill or official document to reflect the new address before they can have a permit. In the meantime we need to use the one day visitor parking permits, which we can only buy 20 at a time (and that is 10 more than usual because Massimo has a blue badge) and which we go 
through at a rate of about 5 a week and which I, frankly would rather not use up for Jemma just due to a little bureaucracy. I pointed out this difficulty to the lady on the phone, explaining also about Massimo being special needs and me being pregnant and our difficulty in just getting up and down to the parking office but she stood firm. They couldn’t accept the contract and they couldn’t accept anything else. Grrrrrrrrrr.
On Tuesday afternoon we had a session with Jackie from Portage and Julia the Speech and Language Therapist. With them we are trying to teach Massimo that he can have some control over what he does, as well as trying to introduce a few Makaton signs into his vocabulary. They both said how much Massimo’s sitting has improved and although he still doesn’t sit unassisted for very long he is definitely getting stronger at it and his sitting in chairs and on laps is also improving as his muscles strengthen and his body control improves. Of course he still gets tired very easily.
On Wednesday Jemma and I went shopping whilst Massimo had a lovely sing song session with Annette. Having purchased foam to make our own bumpers for Massimo’s bed, and purchased a few new pyjamas for Massimo, Jemma and I went off to NatWest to change Jemma’s address on her statements, having been told that most banks can give you an immediate letter reflecting the new address and that this would be acceptable to Wandsworth Parking Services. We waited over half an hour for the one and only services and information chap to free himself of two customers only to be told that they don’t update address at the branch any more and that the best he could do was request a bank statement to be issued as soon as the new address was registered. This should only take a couple of days, however it is now Saturday and no bank statement has arrived. As we have already had two parking tickets on Jemma’s car, getting a permit for her is a priority and it is proving to be rather frustrating.
Thursday the midwife came and was very pleased with how the pregnancy is going. She has requested that the baby stay where he is just for another 2 weeks and then I can give birth at any point. I said I would see what I could do!
In the afternoon, we had booked Massimo for another hair cut as his hair was about 3 inches long on the top and tended to stick straight up in the air. The hairdresser did a fabulous job and Massimo was a little star, but then they seemed to have space for both Jemma and I, so we ended up all having a trim, although mine is a little more radical than just a trim! We have to tell you that Massimo looks like such a big boy with his new hairstyle, it really suits him. I hope you can see it in the new pictures!
On Friday, Sheila joined us and we spent the day with Marina at Christopher’s. Massimo had a lovely day, although he was at times grumpy as he was definitely teething again. In the morning we had a little session in the soft play area, but when Massimo went into the ball pit, it all seemed just a little too much for him. He sat in a high chair and entertained us all throughout lunch then went off with Sheila and the music therapist for a half hour. He had great fun with the piano, the chimes, a drum and some bells! Hopefully we will start a regular weekly session with her sometime next year. 
After music we went off for a swim, where Massimo let us know in no uncertain terms that actually he would quite happily have a nap rather than do anything but we were cruel and eventually, with the help of a little teething medicine, he did enjoy some of his swim. A quick bath, then tea, then half an hour in the sensory room, where Marina turned the music right up and danced stupidly whilst cuddling another little girl. This caused absolute hysteria with both children! A very tired little boy came home and slept soundly both in the car and at (a slightly later) bedtime.
